A Very Large Aro Flag.

— I know it was all based on a misunderstanding... But I lived as the Predator Killer for a while.

— Yes, that's right. You're probably the person who knows him best.

Akutugawa who grows to resent Dazai rather than hero worshipping him.

And thus becomes protective from afar over Atsushi.

Because he knows better than anyone how Dazai treats his subordinates.

And as much as it pains him to admit it, Akutugawa doesn't want to see Atsushi's light crumble.

He doesn't see Dazai treating Atsushi better than he treated him as a sign he's changed.

He sees it as a trap.

Atsushi is an open book, he's never been one to hide his trauma or past.

Which means anyone who offers him a hand can use that to exploit him.

And Akutugawa doesn't buy that Dazai truly cares for Atsushi, not one bit.

Akutugawa: You may have everyone else here buying your... transformation. But you and I both know you've struggled to do the right thing in the past.

Dazai: I won't deny that but here I am standing on the side of light. Doesn't that tell you something?

Akutugawa: Only that your loyalty is as breakable as your will to live.

Dazai: Oooh ouch below the belt.

Akutugawa: My apologises, if I had known you were in such a good mood, I'd have gone lower.

Dazai: I taught you well.

Akutugawa: Debatable. I can deal with you, but if you dare to hurt the Jinko...

Dazai: serious I would never hurt Atsushi. On that you have my word.

Akutugawa: Unfortunately your word is meaningless. You may have him fooled but you can't fool me. I know what kind of man you are, and those people never change.

Dazai: You'd be surprised... Since when do you care about my subordinate?

Akutugawa: I don't. But no one, not even my most hated nemises deserves to suffer under your... Tutelage.

Dazai: I admit, I was wrong for that. But I wouldn't hurt Atsushi.

Akutugawa: Good, because if you slip up, if I see the Osamu Dazai I know. If I see one mark on him that I've seen in the mirror...

Clenches his fist at the thought Than I will end your life, painfully with my "useless ability." And we both know much you'd hate that.

Dazai: Not my preferred way to go out, but fair enough. But I swear I won't hurt him.

Akutugawa: For your sake , you better not.

Dazai: I know it doesn't mean anything but, I am sorry.

Akutugawa: Your right, it doesn't.

a glimpse into jongwoo's phone

bonus

MY HERO SPOILERS ☹️

okok so midoriya doesnt have his quirk anymore so it totally makes sense for him to transfer to one of the other courses at UA

support course midoriya being canon or even slightly hinted at would make my day bro

he's a smart kid who likes taking notes in organized ways about heros which includes their techniques, information about their quirks, and information about their support items

he'd be a huge help in the support course!!

in honor of that post going around about andrew becoming a lawyer once he retires

i raise you, once neil motherfucking josten is allowed to retire from exy and his dues are paid: he becomes a math professor

just imagine that

him receiving a letter one day, when he's in his mid forties, from ichirou, saying that he's paid his debt, that he's free to do what he wants

and neil, bless his heart, instead of allowing himself some much needed and deserved rest, thinks, what else could i make a living out because god forbid he does nothing with his days

(cue andrew screaming into a pillow somewhere)

and like that he goes back to university, gets a degree in teaching maths however that's called, and suddenly they're professor in maths husband with lawyer husband

(honestly that's so hot of them)

like imagine, you're an accountant student, getting ready for your calculus class (or some other difficult physics or math class), your classmate turns to you

"hey did you hear mr. thompson retired? it was about time not gonna lie, but i heard from some girls that he was some messed up looking guy, these people have lost their minds hiring thugs now"

and you nod bc what else are you supposed to do

and you sit there waiting, until five minutes from the start of the class, he walks in in all his auburn scarred glory, your exy idol, the guy who you followed until he retired and dropped off the face in the earth, and you think what the fuck is neil josten doing here

and then

"hello everyone, my name is neil josten, im your new [advanced mathematics] professor, today we're just gonna check the syllabus"

iconic

oh they....

aftg show bloopers like

the scene where Neil throws the glass at Aaron (it's not glass glass, it's that softish, breakable material used in filmmaking that looks like glass) and Aaron's actor ducks too late so it hits him straight in the face. nobody moves for a second (they're still rolling) until Neil's actor moves toward him going "oh my god I'm so sorry" and everyone starts laughing and Aaron's actor is like I'm fine dw

Allison's actress tripping in her heels during what's supposed to be a badass entrance and she drags herself out to redo the take, cursing the shoes

so many bits of the cast just pretending to club each other over the head with their racquets

Coach's actor accidentally switches up a whole bunch of words while shooting one of his inspirational speeches. but he just keeps talking as though he didn't just passionately tell the kids to "get out on that floor and- court- show them how real a Fox floors- plays...after tonight they will- they will not ever discriminate- underestimate you again" and you can hear the Foxes' actors quietly break character one by one in the background

Andrew's actor pulling out a knife to threaten someone but then dropping it and jumping back from it

just. the monsters all piled in the car for a scene and they're all in the zone, waiting for "Action" to be called when something happens and they all crack up in sync

Andrew and Neil's actors on an actual roof, trying to shoot an Andreil Moment but an airplane flies over and they have to wait for it to pass because audio. so in the blooper these two guys are just standing very close to each other, Andrew's hand fisted in Neil's hoodie, staring up at the airplane urging it to get out of the way

in one scene Dan's actress kisses Matt on the cheek as a goodbye before she leaves the room, and right after she does Neil's actor jumps up to kiss his cheek too

they're shooting a night practice scene and Kevin's actor keeps missing the mark and it's just a bunch of two second clips of him on set of the court, groaning and swearing and oof-ing. after he misses the action for like the tenth time he just turns to make direct eye contact with the camera, his face comically blank

(in the background you can hear Neil's actor go "thank goodness for editing and all that magic, eh?")

Andrew's actor forgets his line during the scene where the Foxes meet the Ravens at the banquet. he gets to the "Jean. Jean Valjean" line and then completely blanks, going "Jean Valjean. hello Jean Valjean. I'm supposed to say something to you now Jean Valjean. i do not remember what"

the actors for Aaron, Kevin, Andrew and Nicky all being crammed onto that couch in the lounge the way the monsters actually do and falling asleep on each other in between takes

Neil's actor is British who speaks in an American accent but one time accidentally lets the accent slip during a scene where he uses the phrase "strongest goalkeeper". he cuts himself off and it's silent for a beat and then he softly repeats "goalkeeper" to himself in an exaggeratedly British accent and cracks everyone up. Kevin's actor, who himself naturally has an Irish accent, goes "this is South Carolina, love"

it's a night shoot and it's cold and Aaron's actor steals Andrew's actor's (his brother) scarf going "how come you get a scarf and i don't. Aaron is getting the scarf for this scene"

Kevin and Neil's actors doing a scene where they get all up in each other's faces. and then start leaning in too much and make as though they're going to start kissing

just a solid two minutes of Neil and Andrew's actors fighting bugs away from their faces throughout various rooftop scenes

Nicky's actor being the mf king of improvised one-liners (in true Nicky fashion) and just constantly causing EVERYONE to break cause his quips are so random

not really a blooper but they're behind the camera, waiting for something to be set up, and Renee's actress has an acoustic guitar and she and some of the others make up really bad jingles for all the characters

Dan's actress is most likely to fumble her lines or trip over her tongue and she always does like a weird dance to shake herself out

Aaron's actor looking straight into the camera with a shiner blooming over half his face due to a badly executed "fight" scene: let it be known. here on the set of All for the Game, i do my own stunts

(his brother in the background: you DORK. Aaron's actor: shut up or I'm telling Mom you punched me in the face)

Kevin's actor doing a scene (perhaps that one on the bus in tfc) where he's downing alcohol and he's expecting the director to call cut at a certain point or tell him when he can stop drinking but that doesn't happen so he just kind of confusedly chugs the whole bottle and then the director goes "you didn't need to do all that but we got it thanks" and Kevin's like ?? but Neil's actor, who's in the scene, is stood there with his eyebrows raised, very impressed, going "oh my god that was amazing"

Dan's actress slipping on a line and then banging her head against the chest of Matt's actor in frustration and he just rubs her back, grinning

not a blooper but Neil's actor recites the Riko roast flawlessly and as soon as they call "Cut" on it he gets a little sitting ovation from everyone. even Riko's actor is like yeah okay shutting the fuck up and leaving you alone now

Neil's actor actually struggling to get the seal off the ice cream container in that one scene. he fake-struggles with it for a few moments and then starts actually struggling and looks over to the production people and goes "the bloody thing is actually not coming off"

so many bloopers of various cast members having too much fun hitting others upside the head like they do in the books

Andrew's actor accidentally spilling the tray of drinks at Eden's

Allison's actress being the one who can make others break character without getting caught herself

Matt's actor being the one who makes everyone, including himself, break character but doesn't get in trouble because literally everyone is cracking up

however. when they get into Moods, especially during night shoots, and they have scenes together, Matt and Neil's actors are IMPOSSIBLE. to work together. they just cannot control themselves. everyone hates them

see also: Kevin and Matt's actors. Nicky and Allison's. terrible pairings for long days.

there's a scene with coach and the monsters and after like the fifth time they restart coach turns to look at the camera and pours himself a drink using the prop alcohol while going "parenting....is tough"

anyway. call this an au of an au

AU:

Neil doesn’t meet the foxes, he’s instead caught by the FBI

He helps them catch his father and bring down his empire.

One day he’s brought in to Andrew’s lecture as a guest speaker

The Q&A at the end:

Student: Have you ever killed someone?

Neil: There’s two FBI agents at the door who advised me against answering that specific question. There’s your answer.

Student: What’s the best way to get fake documents?

Neil: I’m legally required to say “don’t”.

Student: What’s the most illegal thing you’ve ever done?

Neil: See, that’s a trick question, because if I answer it becomes the most illegal thing I’ve admitted to.

Student: What’s the hardest lie youve ever had to tell?

Neil: “Sure, I’d love to do a Q&A with a bunch of people who are weirdly obsessed with my father and decided to study crimes because they don’t have the balls to commit them.”

Student: Are you afraid your father’s people will come after you?

Neil *at the end of his fucking rope*: No, I feel completely safe. That’s why I’ve got armed federal agents waiting outside.

Student: How’d you get caught?

Neil: First of all, rude. Second, the FBI made a very compelling argument

Student: …which one

Neil: “cooperate or find out exactly how many laws you’ve broken” - said by a guy holding a very thick file. Direct. Effective. Hard to argue while zip-tied to a chair.

Student: What’s something you miss about your old life?

Neil: being able to leave a room without seven cops and a judge asking where I’m going.

Student: If you could do it all over again, would you?

Neil: I’d rather set myself on fire. I know you don’t understand that reference, but trust me when I say it’s funny.

Student: how many identities have you had?

Neil: Simultaneously or in total?

Student: …total?

Neil: enough that I had to check my ID before answering roll call

Student: what’s the worst crime you’ve ever committed?

Neil: do you want me to answer this as Neil Josten or Nathaniel Wesninski? The distinction matters.

Student: Have you ever made someone disappear?

Neil *looking over his shoulder at Browning*: goodness gracious no

Student: How many languages do you speak?

Neil: enough to talk my way out of things… mostly into them, though

Student: Why did you agree to talk to us?

Neil: it was this or community service

He’s as unhelpful as possible.

His entire goal is to waste everyone’s time while making it just interesting enough that no one can call him out on it.

And Andrew? He’s watching. He’s enthralled. He’s interested, and isn’t that odd.

The professor looks like she regrets her entire career. Half the class is too stunned to speak. Browning is wondering if the punishment for beating up the most valuable witness the FBI has in custody would be worth it. (It would)

Anyway long story short. 5 minutes in Andrew’s in love

A private moment interrupted by Neil’s team, and apparently, fans of Andrew Minyard.

Rewatching Psychopath Diary and Strangers from Hell really makes me wonder if someone was working on both sets at the same time because the amount of things in common...

A. GENERAL STUFF

1- both came out in 2019

2- contain a song by The Rose (or its lead singer, Kim Woo-sung)

3- similar themes (murderers) (although that's about 99% of k-dramas)

B. YOON JONGWOO AND YOOK DONGSIK

1- both writers

2- work an office job

3- annoying coworker/sort of friend called Jae-ho

4- their superior hate them

5- fantasize about murder (like, a lot)

6- (threaten to) beat up one of their colleagues with weird objects

7- one parent that works in the food industry, the other that is nowhere to be seen

8- speak to their evil reflection in the mirror

9- no one takes them seriously

10- keep being dragged into work dinners

11- interest in 'dark' media (crime/horror)

12- one of their neighbour decided to befriend them even after they acted very weirdly

C. SEO MOONJO AND SEO INWOO

1- look very polite and nice to most people

2- same family name!

3- odd relationship to their parental figure (they want to kill them)

4- like to collect things from their victims!

5- really really want to convince a random guy to commit murder

6- tactics to convince someone to commit murder includes saying vague stuff like 'we're so alike'

7- please refer to this post for more details

D- SO JUNGHWA AND SHIM BOKYUNG

1- cops. That one's pretty simple

2- dad was also a cop (and a famous one)

3- only cop to do any work whatsoever in the whole city

4- on more or less good terms with both the actual serial killer (moonjo/inwoo) and the wannabe serial killer (jongwoo/dongsik)

5- gets kidnapped by one of the killers at some point

6- work based on their instincts

Thank you to @softneomiro for pointing out some resemblances I hadn't seen before!